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Here’s another ‘quick bites of energy’ recipe. I loved having these around in the early days of Callan being here. They were healthy enough to eat at any time but they also had a bit of chocolate that worked for my sweet-tooth cravings.

We’ve been cooking with chickpeas a lot lately and I’m finding new ways to incorporate them into desserts. While I wouldn’t say these truly taste like peanut butter cookie dough, they’re delicious.

INGREDIENTS

1 ¼ C canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained (almost an entire can)

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ C + 2 Tbls peanut butter

¼ C honey

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

½ C chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except for the chocolate chips. You may have to stop the food processor and scrape the sides a few times to make sure everything is incorporated.

Add the chocolate chips and pulse a few times.

With wet hands, form into 1 1/2″ balls.

Place onto a Silpat or a piece of parchment paper.

Press down on cookies with fork a criss-cross pattern.

Bake for 10 min.

NOTES
Approximately 20 cookies.

Very, very slightly adapted from Texanerin. For my first grain-free attempt, I figured it best not to mess with the recipe. And like she says, don’t skip the chocolate!

This post was written before Callan came along. In fact, I was writing this while in labor! Turns out, these were the BEST snacks to have around in the early weeks of having a baby. I had no idea how hungry breastfeeding would make me. I would wake up in the middle of the night desperate for food and these were perfect bites of healthy calories.

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I’m still working on stocking up freezer meals and snacks for Baby Ruf’s arrival. My focus last weekend was quick snacks packed with energy. I made Granola Chews, LARABARS, and Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites (recipe coming soon).

My baby doc appointments are in Annapolis which is just over an hour drive from our house. Every time I have an appointment, I have to stop at Trader Joes to stock up. This time, in addition to my normal purchases, I was in search of ingredients to make homemade LARABARS. Really, I just needed some nuts, dates and figs. Somehow, I walked out with nuts, PRUNES and figs. I swear I had dates in my hand!

So, in my attempt to make LARABARS which are typically made from dates, these ended up with prunes. I knew the flavor would be slightly different but the texture should be fairly similar. And since my next appointment isn’t until after my due date, and I’m not making another trip to TJs, I figured I’d give it a whirl.

Success! Next time, I’ll try dates but this is a good substitution, especially if dates are hard to find. I also want to try different flavors and various consistencies. Coconut, cherries or peanut butter would be awesome!

This is our favorite trail mix. It’s super healthy, sweet, and salty. You can vary the ingredients based on your taste, pantry, or dietary requirements. I’ve listed the ingredients we (mostly) use.

Sweet and Salty Trail Mix

12 1/4 C. servings

260 calories per servings

INGREDIENTS

1 C. raw pumpkin seeds

cooking spray

1 tsp. canola oil

1 C. whole almonds, unsalted

1 C. pecan halves, lightly salted

2 Tbls. maple syrup

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 C. dried cranberries (or any dried fruit)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Put the pumpkin seeds in a bowl and coat with the oil. Spread the seeds on the baking sheet and roast for about 20 min, stirring several times.

2. Place the pumpkin seeds, almonds, and pecans in a medium bowl and stir in the maple syrup to coat. Mix the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and sea salt in a small bowl. Add to the nuts and stir well.

3. Spread the mizture on the baking sheet and roast for 15 min, stirring occasionally, until dry. Check often to avoid burning. Cool in the pan for 20 min.